Door check



EJEWWW Aug. 23 J. c. HALLADA' DOOR CHECK Original Filed July 13, I936 INVAENTOR. John C. HczlZada A TTORNE Y.

Patented Aug. 23, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Continuation of application Serial No. 90,278, July 13, 1936. This application April 5, 1937,

Serial No. 134,931

4 Claims.

This application is a continuation of my pending application, Serial No. 90,278, filed July 13, 1936, for Door check.

This invention relates to door checks- An object of the present invention is to provide an improved door check which will function automatically to positively retain the door in a predetermined open position and which may be conveniently released to permit ready closing of the door.

Another object is to provide a door check possessing the above mentioned advantages and so constructed as to permit mounting the same at a substantial distance from the door hinge so as to reduce to a minimum the stresses imposed on the connections. This is of particular advantage when the device is applied to large heavy doors such as garage doors.

Another object is to provide a door check of the, character mentioned which may be readily adjustable in a manner to vary the open position of the door.

Another object is to protect the device and its mounting connections against shocks such as are ordinarily experienced in normal use of the door and which are destructive to thoseconnections.

Other more specific objects and advantages will appear, expressed or implied, from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure l is a plan View of a door check constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown applied to a garage door.

tical bolt I2 passing therethrough and so positioned that an end portion Ill of one lever overlaps the other when the levers are extended or aligned. The other end of lever I0 is pivotally supported upon a vertical pivot I 3 projecting from an appropriate angle bracket I4 attached by screws or otherwise to the inner face of the door a adjacent the top center thereof. The

other end of lever is pivotally supported on a;

the downturned end 23 of the lever.

vertical pivot I5 depending from an appropriate bracket plate I6 similarly attached to the top rail b of the door casing.

The arrangement is such that upon opening the door the levers I0 and I I swing about the connecting bolt I2 and about the pivots I3 and I5 so that the device unfolds from the dotted line condition of Fig. 1 to the extended full line condition shown, thereby serving to limit the swing of the door. This limiting position of the door may be varied by withdrawing the bolt l2 and positioning it in other cooperating holes I8I9 or I8I9' provided for that purpose in the adjacent ends of the levers. It will be noted that the device is well spaced from the door hinge Where it may function to control the door to best advantage and with minimum stresses imposed upon the hinge or upon the device and its connections.

In order to protect the device and its connections againstdestructive shocks to which they would otherwise be subjected by the door as it reaches the end of its swing, or otherwise, a shock absorbing connection is preferably provided between one of the levers and its mounting means or connection. In this instance a two-way shock absorber, such as will now be described, is provided between the outer end of lever II and its supporting pivot I5, as indicated in Fig. 3.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3, the pivot I5 projects through a longitudinal slot 20 formed in the lever I I and into one leg of an angle member 2I to which the pivot I5 is fixed. A bolt 22 extends loosely through the other leg of member 2| and also loosely through the down turned end. 23 of the lever. A compression spring 24 surrounding the bolt 22 is confined between a nut 25 on the bolt and one leg 26 of a U-shaped mem ber 21 confined between the spring and member 2|. The other leg 28 of member 21 is supported by that portion of bolt 22 which projects beyond The spring 24 is pre-stressed and the initial compression therein may be regulated by adjustment of the nut 25 on the bolt.

The arrangement is such that a thrust upon the lever II toward the left (Fig. 3) is trancmitted through the lever end 23 and member 21 to the spring 24, so as to further compress the spring against the nut 25, the bolt 22 being restrained by engagement of its head with the member 2|; and a pull upon the lever II toward the right is transmitted through the lever end 23 and nut 25, so as to compress the spring 24 against the leg 26 of member 21, the member 21 absorbed by the pre-stressed spring 24.

Provision is made for releasably retaining the levers I and H in the extended or aligned positions shown in Figs. 1 and 5 so as to releasably but securely retain the door in the predetermined open position shown. Although this might be accomplished in various ways, the novel latch mechanism shown particularly in Figs. 5 and 6 adequately serves this purpose. This mechanism comprises a vertical latch plate 30 rockably mounted upon and beneath the projecting end Ill P of the lever ID, the plate being recessed at its upper edge to closely and permanently embrace the lever end l0 and also to receive and embrace the adjacent end portion of lever II, when the levers assume the extended or aligned positions shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

In this instance the latch plate 30 is supported by a rigid tongue 3| which projects horizontally from the plate 30 and is yieldably retained seated against the under side of the lever end ill by a spring 32. The spring 32 is carried by a bolt 33 which extends through the tongue 3| and lever and is supported by the latter. The bolt 33 together with two upstanding fingers 34 and 35, constituting the opposite sides of the recess in the latch plate, serve to retain and position the plate on the lever end l0. One of the fingers 34 is bevelled to provide a cam portion 35 with which the lever ll coacts to rock the latch plate into the depressed position shown in Fig. 6, as the lever ll approaches alignment with lever Ill. The other finger 35 is somewhat extended so as to form a limiting stop for the lever l l, and the instant that lever II reaches the stop finger 35 and is thus aligned with the recess in the latch plate the latter is snapped upwardly by the action of the spring 32 into the position of Fig. 5 to lock the levers in the extended or aligned posi tions shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The parts, thus positioned, securely retain the door in the predetermined open position shown.

The latch plate 30 may be readily tripped, to release the levers and the door, by a thrust applied to the lower end thereof in a direction lengthwise of the lever Id. In this instance a trip cord 31 is provided, attached at one end to the lower end of the latch plate and passing through an eye 38 or other appropriate guide attached to the door near the adjacent end of the lever In so that the free depending end of the cord is disposed Within convenient reach of a personpositioned to manipulate the outer edge of the door. When so disposed, the latch may be tripped to release the door by a slight pull on the cord, applied by one hand, while the other hand is in convenient position to manipulate and close the door.

To facilitate closing of the door the device is preferably constructed so that the toggle, formed by the extended levers, may readily be broken by pressure applied to the door. For this purpose one of the levers, in this instance lever 10, is bent, as at 39, so that the levers arrive at their limiting position, in which their adjacent ends are aligned and engaged by the latch plate 30, before the pivot or bolt l2 reaches a dead center position. That is to say, by reason of the bent portion 39 of the lever I0, the pivot I3 is offset laterally, so that the bolt l2 approaches but never reaches a line passing through the pivots l3 and [5. Because of this arrangement the toggle, formed by the extended levers l0 and I I, is readily broken by closing pressure applied to the door whenever the levers are released by tripping the latch plate 30.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention hereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificing the advantages of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A door check comprising a pair of toggle levers, a pivotal connection between adjacent end portions thereof, a latch having a tongue rockably seated on one of said end portions, and means on said tongue for embracing the other of said end portions to releasably retain said end portions in substantial alignment, said latch and tongue being rockable in response to pressure applied thereto lengthwise of said first named end portion to thereby release the other of said end portions.

2. A door check comprising a pair of toggle levers, a latch having a supporting tongue, a pin extending through said tongue and engaged with one of said end portions, a spring on said pin for yieldably retaining said tongue against said last named end portion, and means on said latch permanently and snugly embracing said last named end portion and spaced from said pin in a direction lengthwise of said end portion so as to cooperate with said pin to position said latch on said end portion, said means being arranged to also embrace the other of said end portions whensaid end portions are aligned to lock the latter in alignment.

3. A door check comprising a pair of toggle levers, a pivotal connection between adjacent end portions thereof, and a latch rockably seated on one of said end portions and having means permanently embracing one of said end portions, said last named means comprising a stop finger carried by said latch for limiting the swing of the other of said end portions, and a cam finger shorter than said stop finger coacting with said last named end portion to automatically rock said latch as said last named end portion approaches said stop finger.

4. In a door check, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected toggle levers for connection to a door and door-casing, respectively, a latch carried by one of said levers for co-action with the other of said levers to yieldably retain said levers in extended position, a support for one of said levers pivotally and slidably engaged therewith, said last named lever having an end extending beyond said support, and a resilient double-acting buffer disposed between said extended end and said support.

JOHN C. HALLADA. 

